LZ 37
{{Short description|1915 Zeppelin M-class airship}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox aircraft
| name = LZ 37
| image = Lieutenant Warneford's Great Exploit- the first Zeppelin to be brought down by Allied aircraft, 7th June 1915. the Vc was conferred at once on Lieutenant Warneford. Art.IWMART3077.jpg
| caption = Artist's impression of the destruction of German Zeppelin LZ 37 by Sub-Lieutenant Reginald Warneford on 7 June 1915.
| national_origin = {{flag|German Empire|naval}}
| introduction =
| status =
| primary_user =
| produced =
| number_built = 77
| sole example of type? = N
| type = M-Class Zeppelin
| other_names =
| manufacturer = Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at Friedrichshafen
| construction_number = LZ 37
| construction_date =
| civil_registration =
| military_serial =
| radio_code =
| first_flight = 4 March 1915
| owners = {{navy|German Empire}}
| in_service = 4 March 1915 – 7 June 1915
| flights = 14
| total_hours =
| total_distance =
| fate = Shot down, 7 June 1915
| preservation =
}}
The airship LZ 37 was a World War I Zeppelin of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy). It was the first Zeppelin to be brought down during the war by an enemy plane, on the night of 6 to 7 June 1915, near Sint-Amandsberg, Belgium.{{sfn|Stephenson|2004|p=16}}
History
In 1915 Zeppelins were first used by Germany for strategic bombing.{{cite web |title=The National Archives - Homepage |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/zeppelin-raids/ |website=The National Archives |publisher=The National Archives UK |access-date=8 February 2024 |archive-date=4 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904101123/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/zeppelin-raids/ |url-status=live }}
LZ 37 was part of a raid with Zeppelins LZ 38 and LZ 39. While returning, she was intercepted in the air by Reginald Warneford in his Morane Parasol during its first raid on Calais, on 7 June 1915.{{Cite web|url=https://www.luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/zeppelin-lz-37-te-sint-amandsberg|title=Zeppelin LZ 37 te Sint-Amandsberg|last=Piet|first=Dhanens|website=Luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be|date=12 April 2013|language=nl|access-date=2019-12-29|archive-date=2019-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191229211215/https://www.luchtvaartgeschiedenis.be/content/zeppelin-lz-37-te-sint-amandsberg|url-status=dead}}{{Cite book|title=Een eeuw luchtvaart boven Gent|last=Dhanens|first=Piet|date=2008|publisher=Flying Pencil|isbn=978-90-78878-04-9|volume=1|location=Erembodegem (Aalst)|language=nl|oclc=1074669308}} Warneford dropped six {{convert|20|lb|kg|0|adj=on}} Hales bombs on the zeppelin, which caught fire and crashed into the convent school of Sint-Amandsberg, next to Ghent, Belgium ({{Coord|51|3|43.2|N|3|44|54.7|E|display=inline}}), killing two nuns. The commander of LZ 37, Oberleutnant {{ill|Otto van der Haegen|de}}, and seven members of the crew were killed. One crew member, Steuermann Alfred Mühler, survived with only superficial burns and bruises when he was precipitated from the forward gondola, landing in a bed.History of the First World War, vol. 3, pp. 986. It was the first victory of a heavier-than-air aircraft over a lighter-than-air dirigible.{{sfn|Stephenson|2004|p=16}} Warneford was awarded the Victoria Cross for his achievement.
LZ 37 was based in {{ill|Gontrode|fr||nl}}, Belgium (airport location: {{Coord|50|58|54.6|N|3|47|17.1|E|type:airport_region:BE|display=inline}}), where also other heavy bombers Gotha G IV were based.{{cite web |last=Ghent |first=Thomas |year=2012 |title=KG III Der Englandflieger |url=http://thomasgenth.de/html/beim_kg_iii_.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914041247/http://thomasgenth.de/html/beim_kg_iii_.html |archive-date=2013-09-14 |access-date=29 June 2013 |work=thomasgenth.de |language=de}}{{Cite book |last=White |first=C. M. |title=The Gotha summer: the German daytime air raids on England, May to August 1917 |date=1986 |publisher=Hale |isbn=978-0-7090-2791-1 |location=London}}
Specifications
{{Aircraft specs
|ref={{cite web |url=http://www.pugetairship.org/zeppelins/list_2.html|title=The Zeppelin Airships - Part Two: Zeppelins of the Great War 1914–1918 |publisher= Puget sound airship society |access-date=28 January 2011}}
|prime units? = met
|crew=28
|length m=163.37
|length ft=536
|dia m=18.7
|dia ft=61
|dia in=4
|volume m3=33,780
|volume ft3=1,126,000
|empty weight kg=17588
|empty weight lb={{convert|17588|kg|lb|disp=output number only}}
|lift kg=8520
|eng1 number=4
|eng1 name=Maybach MC-X
|eng1 kw=155
|eng1 hp=210
|max speed kmh=96
|max speed mph=60
|armament = *Four machine-guns
}}
Citations
{{reflist}}
References
- {{cite book | last = Castle | first = Ian | title = London 1914–17: The Zeppelin Menace | publisher = Osprey Pub | location = Oxford, UK New York, NY. USA | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-1-84603-245-5 }}
- {{cite book | last = Brooks | first = Peter | title = Zeppelin: Rigid Airships, 1893-1940 | publisher = Smithsonian Institution Press | location = Washington, D.C. | year = 1992 | isbn = 978-1-56098-228-9 }}
- {{cite book | last = Faulkner | first = Neil | title = In Search of the Zeppelin war: The archaeology of the First Blitz | publisher = Tempus | location = Stroud | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-7524-4182-5 }}
- {{cite book | last = Stephenson | first = Charles | title = Zeppelins: German Airships 1900–40 | publisher = Osprey | location = Oxford | year = 2004 | isbn = 1-84176-692-5 }}
- {{cite web |url= http://www.pugetairship.org/zeppelins/list_2.html |title=Puget Sound Airship Society: Zeppelin Airships 1900–1917 |work=pugetairship.org |year=2008 |access-date=29 June 2013}}
External links
- {{cite web |url=https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/blabr_20110119_002 |title=Canvasprogramma 'Publiek Geheim' belicht Gontrode (Melle) - Het Nieuwsblad |first=Ann |last=Braeckman |work=nieuwsblad.be |date=20 January 2011 |access-date=29 June 2013 |language=nl}}
- {{cite web |url= http://www.aviationheritage.eu/nl/content/bunkers-op-voormalig-woi-woii-vliegveld |title=Bunkers op voormalig WOI-WOII vliegveld - Hangar Flying |work=aviationheritage.eu |year=2013 |access-date=29 June 2013}}
- {{cite web |url=http://acepilots.com/wwi/zeppelin.html |title=Zeppelin Raiders - History of British Pilots who Shot Down German Airships in WW1 |first=Arch |last=Whitehouse |work=acepilots.com |year=2012 |access-date=29 June 2013}}
- {{cite web |url=http://forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=8698 |title=Bekijk onderwerp - LZ 37 Monument Westerbegraafplaats |work=forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl |year=2007 |access-date=29 June 2013 |archive-date=4 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304131200/http://forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=8698 |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=8067 |title=Vliegveld te Lemberge / Gontrode |work=forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl |year=2007 |access-date=29 June 2013 |archive-date=16 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316140127/http://forumeerstewereldoorlog.nl/viewtopic.php?t=8067 |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite web |url=http://www.luftschiffharry.de/Zeppelinsteine-und-anderes.htm |title=Zeppelinsteine und anderes |work=luftschiffharry.de |year=2013 |access-date=29 June 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130211093537/http://www.luftschiffharry.de/Zeppelinsteine-und-anderes.htm |archive-date=11 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}
- {{cite web |url= http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=KO1RP2PV |title=De val van de Zeppelin |work=nieuwsblad.be |date=8 May 2008|access-date=29 June 2013|language=nl}}
- {{cite web |url= http://www.aviation-history.com/articles/zeppelin.htm |title=The Zeppelin is Down |first=Raul |last=Colon |work=aviation-history.com |year=2007|access-date=29 June 2013}}
{{LZ Navbox}}
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Category:Belgium in World War I
Category:Military airships of World War I
Category:Airships of the Imperial German Navy